New Hampshire Primary Source covers breaking and behind-the-scenes news and analysis on the New Hampshire presidential primary and all things political in the Granite State. John DiStaso is the most experienced political writer in New Hampshire and has been writing a weekly column since 1982.

CARLY, CHRISTIE AND MARCO. In that order.

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Carly Fiorina became a big player in the GOP presidential field as a result of her performance in Wednesday night’s debate.

Her counter-attack on Donald Trump’s “face” comment ("I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said."), her direct challenge of Trump’s business acumen by the use of “other people’s money,” and her emotional plea on the defunding of Planned Parenthood were among the memorable moments of the three-hour marathon.

Chris Christie took advantage of being called on early and often by the moderators, and scored points in his comment on Fiorina and Trump’s bantering about their business careers.

"While I'm as entertained as anyone by this personal back and forth about the history of Donald and Carly's career, for the 55-year-old construction worker who doesn't have a job, who doesn't have money to fund his child's education, I gotta tell you the truth. They could care less about your careers. They care about theirs," he said.

Swish.

Questions about substance abuse was also in his wheelhouse. But Fiorina had the memorable comment in her emotional recollection of the drug-related death of her daughter.

Christie hit the mark with his personal recollections of 9/11 – the thought of losing his wife in the attack – and saying, “Every time a plane went overhead in the weeks after that, people's heads jerked to the sky because they thought it was happening again.”

Marco Rubio had no singular moment, but had a strong overall performance , showing deep knowledge of foreign policy, eloquence in his defense of speaking Spanish at times and – agree or disagree – clarity in denying that his is a climate change “denier” while blasting the Obama administration for what he views as over-regulation.

“We’re not going to destroy our economy the way the left-wing government we’re under wants to do,” Rubio said. “Every proposal they put forward are proposals that will make it harder to do business in America, that will make it harder to create jobs in America.”

Jeb Bush had a much stronger presence than in the first debate, and hit the light question about his Secret Service code name – “Everready” – off the left field wall if not out of the park. Overall, a plus night for him.

Trump was, as expected, the centerpiece of the debate, at least early on. He had many vintage strong one liners, beginning with his unprovoked attack on “1 percent” Rand Paul. But he seemed to fade as the debate turned to substantive discussions on issues.

While not as strong as in the first debate, the Donald did not seem to suffer damage.

But so much for our take.

We asked the veteran New Hampshire Republican strategist Michael Dennehy for his assessment.

Dennehy, who is now a free agent after serving as a senior advisor for former candidate Rick Perry, agreed that Fiorina was the winner, although he believes she won by a “good margin.”

“She had the best and most forceful answer of the night on the Planned Parenthood funding issue,” he said. “It is becoming clear that of the outsider candidates, she is the one who speaks with the most authority, understanding and class. Fiorina also hit the silly 10 dollar bill question out of the park.”

Dennehy said Jeb Bush had no breakout moments, “but he did well in the last half. And defending his brother from Trump worked in his favor.”

He said Trump’ controversial comments “will likely only embolden his supporters. I didn't see anything that will cause him to drop dramatically.”

Dennehy thought Rand Paul “was quiet and probably had the least amount of air time. Scott Walker also seemed quiet and his answers were cookie cutter.”

He said John Kasich “lost a big opportunity to go after Hillary Clinton and paved the way for Fiorina to hit another home run.

"Republicans want a fighter, and he looked weak on that answer. He seems to trying to carve out a niche among independents as Jon Huntsman tried in 2012. It's a risky strategy that can prove beneficial in New Hampshire but is unlikely to have legs.

“Everyone else did fine,” Dennehy said. “No mistakes but no great moments."

WHAT DID THE GOVERNOR GET? In Concord, what happens now?

With the budget stalemate now history, Republicans say Gov. Maggie Hassan “caved” and gave up just about everything she had pushed for when she vetoed the state budget in June.

Hassan and her Democratic supporters in the Legislature say no. They say it was a compromise but she emerges politically unscathed for her next campaign – whatever that may be.

The Republicans got their business tax rate cuts. Hassan did get an assurance that the second half of the cuts will only go into effect if certain revenue figures are achieved.

The Republicans counter, however, that those levels will be easily to reach, the second round of rate cuts will undoubtedly be triggered, and that the provision was window dressing to allow the governor to say she got something out of the deal.

Hassan did get the state employee pay raise, but only because her veto of the budget and the passage of a continuing resolution created enough savings to pay for it. A bit of irony there.

In a significant hit, Hassan did not get a guaranteed re-authorization of Medicaid expansion past 2016 as part of the budget. The Republican leadership promised her that they would take up separate legislation re-authorizing the program as soon as possible.

“We have taken the Republican leadership at their word,” Hassan said.

That’s quite a risk. We won’t know how this turns out until sometime early in the next legislative session. And Democrats are betting the Republican will not want to, in their words, take health care away from more than 40,000 Granite Staters.

By the time that issues comes up at the State House, Hassan will presumably be running for the U.S. Senate or for re-election.

No word on that yet, and Democrats are betting it will be a number of weeks before she makes an announcement.

Some in both parties thought she would be making the big announcement at Saturday’s New Hampshire Democratic Party state convention in Manchester. Republicans were convinced.

In this column last week, we speculated about the possibility of an announcement at the convention. The timing was interesting.

But the governor said at a post-legislative session news conference Wednesday that she intends to make a decision on her political plans "sooner rather than later," but she said there will be no announcement on Saturday.

And that will leave the media and the politically active to try to read between the lines of her speech, looking for a hint. Will she touch on any national issues or will her talk focus strictly on issues within the state’s borders?

That remains to be seen.

THE CONVENTION LINEUP. The massive state Democratic convention Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Arena will get plenty of local and national coverage, with five presidential candidates on tap speak. One won’t be there; more about that below.

The state party now puts the expected attendance at 3,500, by far the largest political convention in state history and one of the largest political events ever in New Hampshire.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and Harvard law professor are scheduled to speak at various times throughout the morning and early afternoon, interspersed by local elected officials and potential candidates for state and federal offices.

Former Virginia U.S. Sen. Jim Webb had been billed as a speaker, but now, the party and Webb’s campaign confirm that he will not attend.

Webb’s camp said it never committed to have Webb speak and can’t understand why the party announced him as one of the speakers. The campaign said Webb will be campaigning in Iowa this weekend.

Party officials said Webb’s camp initially gave them the impression that he would attend, and that’s why he was included in an Aug. 24 email blast announcing that all the presidential candidates would be there.

As for the arrangements: Party officials say no candidate is being asked to pay to speak, but candidates are able to buy, on an a la carte basis, booths, ads in the program, space for signs and other amenities.

One campaign told us it is putting up $10,000 for all of the above and about 200 tickets. Tickets for the general public are $35.

In addition to the presidential candidates, convention speakers will include – in no particular order -- Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, executive councilor and potential candidates for governor Colin Van Ostern and Chris Pappas, House Democratic Leader Steve Shurtleff and Senate Democratic Leader Jeff Woodburn and two other potential candidates for governor, Portsmouth City Councilor Stefany Shaheen and former state securities bureau chief Mark Connolly.

Also speaking will be state AFL-CIO president Glenn Brackett, former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, who may run again next year, and announced 2016 first district congressional candidate Shawn O’Connor.

Top party leaders Gov. Maggie Hassan, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and U.S. Rep. Ann Kuster will also speak.

Party officials are not expecting a huge financial haul from the event, with one noting, “The costs are enormous.”

Still, it should be quite a show.

Meanwhile, O’Malley’s campaign announced Wednesday the candidate and his supporters will rally at Veterans Park in Manchester prior to the convention, and then march to the event.

SANDERS’ SCHEDULE. Sanders’ appearance at the convention will launch a two-day swing through the state.

At 3 p.m. Saturday, he will attend the opening of his Manchester campaign office at 835 Hanover St. At 4:30 p.m., Sanders will hold a town hall meeting at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics. The NHIOP expects to squeeze about 250 people into the event.

Sanders, on Sunday at 12:30 p.m., will hold a town meeting at the Seabrook Middle School. He will attend the opening of his Portsmouth campaign office, 235 West Road, Suite 10, at 4 p.m., followed by a town hall meeting at the University of New Hampshire field house at 6 p.m.

RAND’S RETURN. New Hampshire Primary Source has learned that Republican Rand Paul will make his next New Hampshire campaign swing on Sept. 25, with four stops, including three town halls, planned.

His first stop will be at 8 a.m. at a familiar place for presidential candidates, Chez Vachon restaurant on Kelly Street in Manchester.

He will then hold town hall meetings at the Salem Chamber of Commerce at 12 noon, New England College at 2 p.m. and the Brookline Events Center at 6:30 p.m.

Trump’s lone stop will be a town hall meeting at the Rochester Recreation Arena at 7 p.m.

Clinton will begin a three-day swing with an 11:30 a.m. “conversation” on substance abuse in Nashua, followed by a larger community forum on the topic at the Boys and Girls Club of Laconia at 3:30 p.m. She will then hold a town hall meeting at the Concord Boys and Girls Club at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, she will hold a forum on college affordability at the University of New Hampshire Memorial Union Building at 9:45 a.m. and speak to a Plymouth Area Democrats’ fundraiser at the Common Man restaurant at 5:30 p.m.

A HINT FROM ANNIE? U.S. Rep. Ann Kuster’s comments Tuesday night about her friend and former campaign manager, Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern, was the (non-budget) talk of Concord Wednesday.

As Van Ostern was leaving a political event in Concord early for personal reasons, Kuster said: “At this time next year, he’ll have six weeks to go in the governor’s race.”

Did Kuster know something about not only about Van Ostern’s plans, but also about Hassan’s? Or was it just an expression of her hopes and wishes?

Kuster has expressed her hope at several events recently that Hassan runs for the U.S. Senate. And she has said she hopes Van Ostern runs for governor.

Her remarks about her friend created a stir, but was it a prediction of the future?

Probably not.

SHAWN’S PLEDGE. New Hampshire Primary Source has learned that 1st District congressional candidate Shawn O’Connor Thursday morning will call for a $15-an-hour minimum wage and will pledge that if elected, he will accept only the minimum wage annual salary of $15,080 until it is passed.

The remainder of his congressional salary, he’ll say, will be donated to New Hampshire charities.

At a news conference at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester at 10 a.m., O’Connor will also promise to pay his campaign staff at least $15 hourly.

O’Connor will challenge all presidential and congressional candidates to join him in signing the pledge.

READYING A RUN? Speaking of congressional candidates, Republican Rich Ashooh appears to be on his way to a second run for the 1st District seat.

Ashooh announced Wednesday he is leaving BAE Systems after more than 20 years to become the interim executive director at the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership and Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire School of law. We understand it’s a six-month assignment.

Ashooh, who worked for six years on the late U.S. Sen. Rudman’s staff, lost to Rep. Frank Guinta in the 2010 GOP congressional primary.

SPEAKING TO KASICH? Was U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte speaking to Ohio Gov. John Kasich when she issued an open letter to presidential candidates Tuesday urging them to visit the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and explaining that workers there are “strongly opposed” to another Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round?

Kasich has said a BRAC round is a positive way for military basis to focus on efficiency.

His spokesman said that while Kasich wants to expand the Navy and build more ships, his refusal to rule out another BRAC meant “we need to always be in search for ways to squeeze out greater efficiencies so that taxpayers get the best bang for their buck.”

What does Kasich’s supporters in New Hampshire have to say about that? Nothing.

We’ve reached out to several, but received no response.

SCOTT WALKER: DOES HE STILL LOVE NH? The question surrounding Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker this week has to do with New Hampshire. In short, is going to continue campaigning in New Hampshire or not?

National reports, including this one, have him trying to right his campaign by focusing on Iowa and South Carolina. What about New Hampshire?

That remains to be seen.

Walker was in the state during the Labor Day weekend, touching all 10 counties in a motorcycle tour.

Yet, with the rise of Donald Trump, Walker is among the candidate dropping quickly in national and early voting state polls.

Veteran Republican operative Cliff Hurst, a Walker New Hampshire co-chair and former vice chair of the state Republican Party, is perplexed by the turn of events.

“It’s really a hard one for me,” he said of Trump’s lead. “I was thinking at times it was going to be a temporary thing, but now I’m not sure what it’s going to be in the end.”

What is it about Trump that is attractive to voters?

“I spend a lot of time thinking about it, but it’s a hard one to read,” Hurst said. “It’s so unusual. There is so much anger and disappointment in both parties. The fact that we elected majorities in the House and Senate, and we were told there would be drastic change, and there is not drastic change. People are not seeing those changes. And their response seems to be that they want something different.

Other sources say the campaign will actually be beefing up its staff shortly, and that Walker can be expected back in the state as early as next week.

We’ll see.

CLOSE-UP. This week on “CloseUP,” WMUR political director Josh McElveen will interview Gov. Maggie Hassan. In a separate segment,he will interview former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and fomer Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, focusing on their "No Labels" effort to promote bipartisanship. Also, McElveen will interview former U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg and Democratic strategist Lew Feldstein, with a look at the 2016 presidential campaign. The program airs Sunday at 10 a.m.

PRIMARY VAULT. Be sure to check out WMUR political reporter Adam Sexton’s New Hampshire Primary Vault discussion with U.S. Sen. John McCain about McCain's victories in the 2000 and 2008 New Hampshire primaries. Click here to view the interview.

John DiStaso can be reached at jdistaso@hearst.com or distasoj@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jdistaso and on Facebook: Facebook.com/JohnDiStasoWMUR.